Machine for feeding and operating disks.



No. 806,359. v v PATENTED DEC. 5, 1905.

A. H. NEUREUTHER}. MAGHINE'POR FEEDING AND OPERATING DISKS.

APPLIOATION'FILED NOV. 9; 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 I F WITNESSES: i IN VE N TO A Andrew H. Neureucher mtsxsmwm. LQ v Andi; H.Nebre.uke'w ATTORNEY No. 806,359. PATENTED DEC. 5, 1905. Y

A. H. NEUREUTHER. 4 MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND OPERATING DISKSL APPLICATION FILED NOVQ9, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W/TNSSES': I v INVENTOH 5 a, BM. Anavew H- QurwtheY W erfind aw H New-adher- ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW H. NEUREUTHER, OF PERU, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE WEST- ERN CLOCK MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

OF LASALLE, ILLINOIS, A

MACHINE FEEDING AND OPERATING DISKS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Dec. 5, 1905.

Application filed November 9, 1904. Serial No. 232,060.

'"0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW H. NEUREU- THER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peru, in the county of Lasalle and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Feeding and Operating Disks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for feeding small circular disks or small sheets or flat pieces into a series'of operating cups, dies, or molds,which operating cups, dies, or molds'are. successively or alternately brought into line with one or more vertically-operating heads, dies, or molds.

It is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure I is a section on the line 1 1 of Fig.

II. Fig. II is a top view of the machine. Fig. III is an elevation of the feeding device with the threaded part of the forward shouldered cylinder removed to show position of the disks. Fig. IV is a top view of the feeding device.

Like parts are indicated by like letters in all the figures.

A A A A represent the frame of the machine, which is suitably mounted in any desired manner on a bench or standards. The frame is of any convenient form to adapt it forconvcniently holding the various portions of the apparatus. As shown it consistsof four horizontally-projecting pieces A A A? A", attached to vertical piece A. The parts A A3 A serve as bearings for the vertical shaft A, which carries a considerable portion of the driving mechanism. At the left-hand end of A-is attached avertical projecting part A, which with A forms the bearing for the horizontal main driving-shaft A, which drives the vertical shaft through the bevelgears A A. Shaft A is driven by means of a pulley A, which is driven by a belt. The pulley may be rigidly connected to the shaft or may be loose on the shaft and operated by any of the usual clutch mechanisms.

On the part A is formed a vertical shouldered cylindrical part A which carries the horizontal rotating member B. It is my practice to cast the part A with the part A. The rotating member is composed of two similar parts, as shown, suitably fastened together at F. This rotating member B carries a series of projections, on each of which is fastened a part which carries a cup, die, or. molding part B. The rotating member or turret Bis driven by means of rack B, which is attached to its lower end and which meshes with pinion B which is associated with friction-disk K, keyed to the shaft A", which'is journaled in the piece A, and which friction-disk is similar to that shown in my Patent N0.782,869, granted February 21, 1905. I The rotating member or turret B is stopped at proper intervals by means of the pin B which slides through an aperture in 'A and fits into one-of the series of sockets in B. The pin B is attached to the bell-crank lever B and is operated by means of the toothed cam B, which is rigidly fastened "to the vertical shaft A The end of the bell-crank lever B is held against the cam B by means of a spring B On vertical shaft A between A and A is fastened a cam-wheel C, having cams on its cylindricalsurface, on which cam rides a roller C which is fastened to a vertically-sliding operating-head C by means of a pin C. This operating-head C moves in a slide and slot A, which is a part of A. This operating-head C is always in alinement with one or more of the series of heads on the turret B in its position when stopped by the pin B.

On. the upper end of vertical shaft A is fastened a gear A, which meshes into a gear A, which in turn meshes into a gear A, which is fastened to a smaller gear A, (see Fig. IV,) which smaller gear A meshesinto a gear A Gear A meshes into two series of gears, (see Fig. IV,) one series A A A,

the other A A A The gears A, A and A rotate on pins A A and A attached to part E, and serve only as idler-gears. A A A A are each fastened to the small end of the 'vertical shouldered cylindrical parts E. All the gearing thus described Gears I serves onlyto transmit the motion of shaft A to the vertical shouldered cylindrical pins E. These pins E are shown enlarged in Figs. III

and IV. It will be. seen that they consist of a shouldered cylindrical part, the smaller be ing the upper end, which passes through an aperture in the part E and is then fastened to the gears A A A A. The lower end of spaced equal distances apart. It is evident that the spacing, as shown, leaves a space E between these cylinders, which space communicates with the space above E through the aperture E and with the threads and space below E through the aperture E. This space E in my invention is filled, as shown, with either circular or square flat pieces, which may or may not have apertures in the center.

It is evident from the above description that each of the cylinders E rotates around its axis and in so doing screws down and advances the pieces in E, as shown at E and it is evident that for each rotation of the parts E each of the disks engaged in the thread will advance in accordance with the pitch of the screw, and the one on the lower thread will be released and drop into the cup or head B, Fig. III, and at the same time the upper end of the thread will engage another disk and separate it from the column of disks in Ff and start it on the downward journey to the cup, thus dropping one disk at each rotation of E. Should the pieces or disks to'be fed have an aperture through the center, such as is usual in the gear-wheels in a clock, the cylinders E can be much shorter, and a rod E, Fig. Lcan be inserted in the aperture, and several thousands of these disks can be put in the column, as shown at E* in Fig. I. The rod E is supported at the top by means of a bracket E, which in turn is rigidly fastened to part E.

I do not wish to limit myself to feeding of smooth-edged disks, but can and do feed such articles as clock-gears, &c.in fact, any fiat pieces, regardless of shape of edges.

The cylinders E, the heads B, and the operating-head are so timed in relation to each other by means of the cams B and C and the gears A A A A that E drops a disk into B at the same time (3 performs its operation on the disk directly under it, the turret being locked in its proper position, as before described, by means of the pin B and again released to move to next position when turret is released by cam B withdrawing the pin B It-is evident that the operating-head and the heads B can have any suitable shape, governed only by the operation to be performed on the piece, and can have any of the usual devices for ejecting the disks after the operation on them is finished, In the drawings I have shown this as a mold similar to that used in my Patent No. 782,869. wheel-blank. H is the cavity or mold for the metal. H is the sprue. H and H are plungers for ejecting the completed work. H" is the pivot for the wheel, and H is the pot or metal-supply device used in my Patent No. 7 82,869, and this, together with mold, &c., described in above -mentioned patent, can be used here; but I do not care to claim the individual features of these here, as they are taken care of in said patent.

From the above description it will be evident that the machine is entirely automatic, as to operate same and keep it working all that is necessary is from time to time to put a column of the pieces in E", the shaft A being driven continuously by a belt from the lineshaft, motor, or other source of power.

It will be understood, of course, that the various portions of my device could be used without the others or in connection with features greatly modified. It will also be understood that cams and turret-moving devices and operating-heads could be greatly modified without departing from the spirit of my invention. In short, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to one particular form, arrangement, and grouping of these several features, elements, or parts; but I have presented here that form of a machine that will produce the desired result with the intention of having it taken in a sense as diagrammatic or descriptive of that class of machines which can be produced and any one of which would contain the substance of all or most of my invention.

I claim- In a machine for feeding and operating upon disks, a device for separating, advancing, releasing and dropping a disk, consisting of an upper and lower support, each having a central aperture surrounded by four concentrically-arranged apertures four vertical shouldered cylinders supported in said apertures, each of which has a screw-thread formed at its lower extremity, which cylinders form a receptacle to receive a stack of superposed disks, and means for-rotating said cylinders.

ANDREW H. NEUREUTHER.

H is the disk or Witnesses:

EDWARD B. BIRKENBEUEL, ANDREW J. JOHNSON. 

